Friday, January 20, 2012

Shower Curtain Survey

Do you all remember my guest bathroom? My sad and neglected guest bathroom. The "horrid dungeon of a guest suite", as described by my New Year’s Eve guests. I think they were mocking me. I think.

I purchased West Elm’s Stripe Shower Curtain awhile back. I thought it was going to be the answer to my shower curtain debacle. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is. The charcoal on the curtain just doesn’t work well with the wall color. I will not paint that bathroom again. It’s easier to find another shower curtain. Or is it?

I was on the lookout for a replacement shower curtain but I just hadn’t found anything that spoke to me. That was until I opened up the latest West Elm catalog and saw their Gallery Stripe Shower Curtain…

I knew I shouldn’t have opened up that catalog. I told myself I wouldn’t. I should have dropped it straight into the recycling bin without looking at it’s beautiful glossy pages filled with items that would look perfect in my home.

I’m also on a self-imposed spending ban for the month of January. I’m not sure why I decided to put this ban on myself. My former self was getting irritated with my constant need to buy things. Current Michelle, however, wants to buy this shower curtain and it’s on sale until Monday. Work tested any and all patience I had this week. And it’s the 20th. That’s close enough to the 31st. I gave it a good run. Right? Right!

What are your thoughts?

Do you think the gallery stripe curtain will be the answer to my first world shower curtain problem? Or do you feel that there is another answer out there for me? (I will keep the original stripe curtain for our Jack and Jill bath. It’s just too pretty to send back. Yes, I have a problem. Thank you for your concern.)

Do you all remember my guest bathroom? My sad and neglected guest bathroom. The "horrid dungeon of a guest suite", as described by my New Year’s Eve guests. I think they were mocking me. I think.

I purchased West Elm’s Stripe Shower Curtain awhile back. I thought it was going to be the answer to my shower curtain debacle. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is. The charcoal on the curtain just doesn’t work well with the wall color. I will not paint that bathroom again. It’s easier to find another shower curtain. Or is it?

I was on the lookout for a replacement shower curtain but I just hadn’t found anything that spoke to me. That was until I opened up the latest West Elm catalog and saw their Gallery Stripe Shower Curtain…

I knew I shouldn’t have opened up that catalog. I told myself I wouldn’t. I should have dropped it straight into the recycling bin without looking at it’s beautiful glossy pages filled with items that would look perfect in my home.

I’m also on a self-imposed spending ban for the month of January. I’m not sure why I decided to put this ban on myself. My former self was getting irritated with my constant need to buy things. Current Michelle, however, wants to buy this shower curtain and it’s on sale until Monday. Work tested any and all patience I had this week. And it’s the 20th. That’s close enough to the 31st. I gave it a good run. Right? Right!

What are your thoughts?

Do you think the gallery stripe curtain will be the answer to my first world shower curtain problem? Or do you feel that there is another answer out there for me? (I will keep the original stripe curtain for our Jack and Jill bath. It’s just too pretty to send back. Yes, I have a problem. Thank you for your concern.)

42 comments:

I do think the new one would look better. And I was going to offer to buy your West Elm one until I saw you'd be using it for the other bathroom. I've been considering it for a while. My bathroom is 1950's pink tile and I thought that might coordinate. Thoughts?

I think you'll be able to brighten up the bathroom by using a straight white curtain (potentially floor-to-ceiling waffle in texture like younghouselove did a while back on their first home -- which they later repeated in their current home, too). It's also something we incorporated into our tiny 4x8' bathroom that has everything on the left wall (toilet, vanity, bathtub) making it one long, hellish hallway. It opened it up so much and it doesn't compete with our color or look too dark. I think white is the way to go with pops of amazing mustard and turquoise accessories!

PS: sorry about the "subscribe to mama hope" comment which i removed. i was signed into my google account connected to a student project by accident!

I LOOOOOOOVE that yellow striped one. Love it. You could buy it and then have your spending ban go for a couple extra days in February to make you feel better. And yes, I think it is easier to find a new shower curtain than to repaint! :-)-Katie

I voted for the new shower curtain, too. Purchasing something when it's on sale instead of waiting until a certain date when it's full price trumps a no spending ban. It's more frugal, and therefore, the better thing to do.

So, what are you going to put on those walls? If your bathroom is really as dark as it looks in the picture, you might want something reflective and sparkly.

i voted c.... i like the second choice better out of the two but here is my thought on the stripes.... i think they end up making the room look boxier, and i would go for something with a softer look to lighten the feel of the room. i think even the zig zag curtain from urban would be a good choice- it still has lines but wouldn't feel as boxy. there is my two cents!

I say get the shower curtain!1) Grey & Yellow look awesome together. 2) If you don't like it, you can always return it (then, there's no harm done) but if you decide to get it in February and it's no longer on sale, you'll be so bummed!

So. My thoughts. First, I absolutely adore the first shower curtain, but it just isn't working with the paint color. And I'm with you on no re-painting. That'd be awful. Second, when you fall deeply and truly in love with something it's usually best to just go ahead and buy it instead of buying something else (you know, in Feb) to appease yourself and then spend the next 200 years wishing you would've bought what you really loved.

I am all for ending the ban and buying something, however I think your current shower curtain is perfection. I think you just need to add some colour to the room with art, accessories and carpet. My clients do this all the time and I tell them to finish the vision before you start over again. Keep us posted!

I voted for the new Gallery Stripe one after I did a quick-and-dirty Photoshop rendering (or Photochop as we call them around the office). I can't be sure that I got the tone of the white right,but I love the yellow and smaller gray stripes. Geeeeeeeeet it!

I also vote for a yellow (possibly patterened, you know how I mix patterns willy-nilly) rug.

If you didn't put the spending ban on yourself with any type of goal in mind (like saving up for something or to be able to pay off something), then I think you gave it a heck of a good run and you should reward yourself with this shower curtain. If you did the spending ban to achieve something and you've already achieved it, then spend away. It is a really pretty shower curtain.

Want me to buy it for you, then you can reimburse me on Feb 1? :) I think it'll be perfect in there, but I also think Carol had a great point about finishing the vision before you start over. This is the battle that's ALWAYS going on in my head too!

Ban's are meant to be broken... aren't they? Go for the gray & yellow stripe and order the bath mat while your at it, it's on sale too! http://www.westelm.com/products/stripe-bath-mat-b669/?pkey=cbath-mats

As far as the ban of buying....hmmmm, is there something else you can save on (that you would normally spend on) this month to make up for the difference? Perhaps eating from freezer & pantry in lieu of grocery shopping for the week? (that's what we're doing this month! We have way too much food in our freezer that isn't our "favorite", but I'm forcing us to get through it before buying new things). Or something you could sell on craigslist, etc. to make the extra money to buy the new shower curtain?

I'm personally not a huge fan of stripes, but I prefer the grey & yellow stripes better than the current one.

I found this fabulous paisley one from Bed Bath & Beyond: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=127957&RN=10&Colors coordinate with your guest bedroom as well as your laundry room curtains (where did you get the fab fabric for the laundry room anyway??? What is the name of it?)

This is hilarious.I went to WE after Xmas looking for sale decorations and left with the beautiful gray stripe curtain. Which meant I had to paint our tan bathroom. And find a new vanity that didn't have a tan countertop. And potentially replace our tan tile floor. But...last week when I got the new WE catalog, I fell in love with the SAME option #2! However, got shot down immediately by the hubs. Moral of the story...good pharmacists think alike. Also, I'm very happy with shower curtain #1. Maybe the flooring is throwing you off? Ours is irritating me...unfortunately it is not irrating the hubs.

I vote for the gray and yellow! I love the colors that it brings to the room, that you could further use in accessorizing with rugs, counter storage, etc...I can picture a big fabulous yellow frame around your mirror also. I love yellow!In my opinion, there is just too much grey in there, it needs to be chopped up a little bit. You will make it look fabulous whatever you do!

OK I voted for 'you can do better'. I don't have a solution {which kind of defeats the purpose, right?}... but there is just something about that shower curtain. I mean I like it but at the same time it reminds me of a bumble bee... and although I think bumble bee's are 'cute and fuzzy' in their own little way, im allergic to them and part of me despises them.

Wow, look at you, comment queen! I'm having to scroll farther and farther down your page to leave my thoughts =) I like the colors on the new one. Yellow goes so well with gray... and I'm with Kim - a yellow rug would be SO cute!

I love the Gallery Stripe! What if instead of ending the ban, you just make an exception? Then you're only spending money on the curtain! You can hold off for the rest of the month after buying this beauty right? ;)

I just think it looks dark in there. We moved into an all gray bathroom- tile, paint color, cabinets and even the toilet. We cant change the cabinets or the tile just yet but I painted it a vibrant yellow and swapped for low flow toilet. It's so bright in there now. If you do get the new shower curtain, I'd say to also brighten it up too. Maybe some more stenciling??

While I LOVE the new curtain option, I think it's super easy to actually update your current one to get this look; and maybe cheaper? Purchase light yellow ribbon and sew (or use hemtape) to adhere a few long stripes to mix up the current one to look more like your inspiration. You could also attempt to paint stripes with fabric paint but I'd do the ribbon instead just based on durability. Good luck!